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Scientists studied ancient woolly mammoth DNA that had been freeze-dried in place, preserving it and retaining its shape. The researchers adapted a technique for studying the structures of chromosomes within a nucleus to determine which genes were turned on and off in the mammoth genome. In this activity, students will review what happens when genes are turned on by completing exercises that illustrate hypothetical DNA base pairing and simplified examples of transcription and translation.

Scientists have been able to study genetic activity in an ancient woolly mammoth’s DNA, thanks to a new method. Learn about the research study and the preservation of the DNA while thinking through the implications of having certain genes turned on or off.

Take note — there could soon be a new element on the block. By smashing atoms together, scientists have been expanding our periodic table of elements beyond what occurs in nature. Learn how scientists create them while answering questions and discussing how such innovations may help us in the future.

Integrate recent articles from the May 4 & 18 issue of Science News to have students discuss how graphs can promote misinformation and learn about unconventional approaches to tattooing while answering experimental design questions.

Students will work in groups to answer questions about graphs and data visualizations. Then, they will discuss data literacy and how graphs can promote misinformation

When Ötzi, the mummified iceman, was discovered in 1991, researchers thought they knew how he got his ink. But new findings cast doubt on those assumptions. Learn about unconventional approaches to tattooing and answer experimental design questions, such as the importance of sample size to a scientific study and the difference between quantitative and qualitative evidence.

Use two articles from the April 20 issue of Science News to have students think critically about methods of training AI that can teach them how to influence human behavior and have students conduct observations of an animal and reflect on what they can learn about animal behavior.

Students will observe animal behavior via live camera feed and reflect on their observations. Then they will learn about how animal behaviorists use camera traps and field observations to infer meaning from animal behaviors.

In this study, humans and AI worked together to score the win. But it’s the human partners that got played. Learn how some methods for training AI can also teach AI to influence human behavior, then answer questions about the potential implications of a future world in which AI sways human behavior.

Have students explore an archive of 3D scans of vertebrate anatomy and form a scientific question and learn how scientists could use trees to help detect high-energy neutrinos using these lesson plans paired to articles from the April 6 issue of Science News.

Students will learn about the openVertebrate project and how it is digitizing vertebrate anatomy using CT scans. Then they’ll explore the archive, form a scientific question about one of the specimens and consider how to research that question.

Physicists propose that trees may help detect high-energy subatomic particles called neutrinos. Learn how Earth’s atmosphere alters these incoming high-energy subatomic particles from space. Then, explore how scientists could use this interplay to develop new ways to detect high-energy neutrinos.